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Two pedestrians were killed by the driver of this Ford Mustang in Chatsworth in 2015. L.A. city traffic deaths have soared in the last year. (Credit: Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

In 2016, the first full year that Garcetti’s Vision Zero policy was in effect in L.A., 260 people were killed in traffic crashes on city streets, an increase of almost 43% over the previous year.

Rising traffic deaths appear to be more than a one-year fluke: So far in 2017, crash fatalities are 22% higher than in the same period last year.

When Garcetti announced L.A.’s Vision Zero, he sought a 20% drop in traffic deaths by the end of 2017. This year’s higher fatality rate and some funding questions underscore the challenges the program still faces.